Veronica Stookey selects Montevallo

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Veronica Stookey selects Montevallo

Sports

Thursday, 15 April 2010 07:50

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
Veronica Stookey might be leaving the state in order to play soccer at the next level, but it’s okay — Southwest Airlines offers a direct flight to Birmingham, Ala.
Stookey, a four-year varsity player for St. Cloud, has inked a scholarship to the University of Montevallo, a Division II Peach Belt Conference school midway between Montgomery and Birmingham.
“It was between Montavallo and FAU (Florida Atlantic University),” she said. “It was a decision whether to go D-I or D-II, but I was ready to leave the state.”
Gardner-Webb and Mercer, two out-of-state, private schools also were in the mix, but Stookey said the prospect of a lot of early playing time was a deciding factor.
“They’re bringing me in to play center-back, and there’s another girl, from Iceland, I think, they’re also bringing in, and they said we’d both be starting if we do everything we’re supposed to,” she said. “There are quite a few Europeans on the team.”
Stookey said she caught the eye of the Montevallo staff, led by Patricia Hughes, while in a December tournament in Georgia with her club team, Florida Soccer Alliance. She visited in January and made her commitment then. The scholarship will cover all but part of her books and housing.
“I didn’t want to be in a big-university setting, I wanted something smaller,” she said. “And they are going to be playing some Division I schools, like Alabama.”
She’s also excited about moving back to her natural role in the defense.
“That’s my position. At St. Cloud I stepped up to forward because we didn’t have anyone to play there,” she said.
Bulldogs Coach Melissa Jackson said Stookey’s imposing size (she’s right at 6 feet) and speed made Stookey a key piece to the team’s offense.
“The main reason that she has not played in a defensive role was her size and her aggressiveness,” Jackson said. “At the high school level, she was definitely a target because she was 6 feet tall and played all out. That type of play got her to where she is today and I could not be more proud of the student athlete she has become.”
Jackson said Stookey carries instincts that will serve her well in college.
“Veronica has the ability to see things on the field when others can’t. Her ability to anticipate where to be is phenomenal,” she said. “One thing that she will need to work on is her ability to be coached by one person. Locally, she has many different coaches expecting her to be something for each team she is on. Those roles have been different in past few years, but all of that ends now. I believe she is excited about that.”
Stookey missed the district soccer tournament because of an injured hamstring, but she is now healthy and is playing flag football and running track (she runs the 800 meters).
Stookey plans to major in biology.